Grassroots and Progressive views on local, national and world news

Back to Homeless and Hopeless in San Diego

by Source on September 11, 2015 · 0 comments

in Culture, Economy, Homelessness, Life Events, Military, San Diego, Veterans, Women's Rights

homelesswomenvets-300x137 By Jeeni Criscenzo / San Diego Free Press

A week ago, I was sitting in the Denny’s across the street from Howard Johnsons in Chula Vista, waiting for Tracy (name changed), an Army veteran Amikas had been assisting for almost a year.

The good news was that Amikas, a non-profit that I started five years ago to help homeless women and children, was going to cover the next five days at the hotel for Tracy and her three children. But I wasn’t looking forward to this conversation – where this family would go after those five days was anybody’s guess.

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San Diego’s Crumbling Infrastructure Trumps Peninsula Water-Saving Efforts

by Frank Gormlie on September 10, 2015 · 5 comments

in Culture, Environment, History, Life Events, Ocean Beach, San Diego

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It’s a horrible realization, but one that was abruptly shoved our way the other day when a 24-inch water main broke and caused massive flooding down Nimitz Boulevard for hours.

No matter how much water we save, it can all be trumped by just one pipeline failure.

No matter all the showers not taken, all the lawns removed, all the plants not watered, all the turning off of the faucets – all these water-saving efforts by OBceans and Peninsulans – can go for naught because San Diego has a crumbling infrastructure. The area has had all kinds of water main breaks.

Consider the following instances: …

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SDPD Chief Invokes Ferguson Effect Falsehood to Block Body Cam, Video Evidence

by Doug Porter on September 10, 2015 · 2 comments

in Civil Rights, Culture, History, Media, Politics, San Diego

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By Doug Porter

Chief Shelly Zimmerman, Mayor Kevin Faulconer’s choice to instill public confidence in the San Diego Police Department, has pulled “the boogie man” out of her bag of tricks in an attempt to justify less transparency with the public.

She told a federal court last week, according to NBC7, “the release of video showing a fatal, officer-involved shooting could jeopardize that officer’s life and provoke violence against his law enforcement colleagues.”

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Local Dog Holds World Record for Surfing in Guinness Book of Records

by Staff on September 10, 2015 · 0 comments

in History, Media, Ocean Beach

Post image for Local Dog Holds World Record for Surfing in Guinness Book of Records

A San Diego dog, Abbie Girl, holds the record for the longest wave surfed by a dog in the latest 2016 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records.

Abbie Girl surfed 107.2 meters at Ocean Beach Dog Beach

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Another Crosswalk for OB – Voltaire and Cable

September 10, 2015 by Staff

Ocean Beach received another crosswalk yesterday, Sept. 9th, thanks to the city of San Diego.

This one went in at Voltaire Street and Cable. Locals have complained that this is a somewhat dangerous intersection and the crosswalks add an element of needed safety.

Notices and News From Ocean Beach and Point Loma

September 9, 2015 by Frank Gormlie

Special OB Planning Board Meeting – Sept 16 – The OB Planning Board is hosting a special Board meeting on Wed., September 16 with 2 agenda items: 1. Developing a policy regarding “deviations” to the Land Development Code for Sustainable Buildings Sustainable Building Policy 900-14 – which in plain terms, under what circumstances would the Board consider a deviation to OB’s FAR; 2. Planning Board By-Laws revisions. They will meet at the OB Rec Center, 4726 Santa Monica Ave., at 6pm.

OB Historical Society – Sept 17 – Kummeyaay On the Coast The OB Historical Society presents Professor Richard Carrico, on Kumeyaay on the Coast – Overlook aspects of Native Fishing and Maritime 7 PM, at the P.L. United Methodist Church, 1984 Sunset Cliffs Blvd., O.B.

Annual OB Pier Pancake Breakfast – Sept 19

OB Town Council meeting – Sept 23 OBTC Public Meeting 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm, Masonic Center. The winning candidates to the OBTC Board will

AND MORE NEWS FROM OB AND PL …

How Can We Call Our Country Great When There’s No Equality and Justice for All?

September 9, 2015 by Ernie McCray

By Ernie McCray

Donald Trump, on the stump, has been talking about making “America great again.”

And I’m thinking, again? We were great once and that greatness came to an end? When? I mean, I’ve been hearing about how great America is all my life, with no let up.

And I was a believer for a while, with all the fireworks and all. All the parades. All the “Oh say can you see” at the beginning of games and “God bless America” at the 7th inning stretch near the end.

And we love to say “That’s what makes America great” or “Only in America,” especially when some one of us: takes to a stage and makes us cry or laugh or jump up and boogie; gives forth with paintings and sculptures that are pleasing to our souls and our eyes; wins a noteworthy award like the Nobel Peace Prize.

One Day Soon, That Drone Overhead May Be Pointing a Taser at You

September 9, 2015 by Source

By Marjorie Cohn / Truthdig

North Dakota has just become the first state to legalize police use of drones equipped with “less than lethal” weapons, including rubber bullets, Tasers, tear gas, pepper spray and sound cannons.

Now, police will be able to remotely fire on people in North Dakota from drones, much as the CIA fires on people in other countries.

Although drones in North Dakota will be limited to “less than lethal” weapons, some of these devices can cause injury or even death, …

The First OB Rag – 45 Years Ago

September 8, 2015 by Staff

It was 45 years ago this month – September – when the very first issue of the OB People’s Rag hit the streets of Ocean Beach.

With the banner date of September 17 1970, Volume 1 No. 1 was published on a mimeograph machine, it included 4 pages, back and front, stapled together.

The first issue included slams against the current state of education, articles on the women’s movement, struggles in the military, a critique of the “Miami-Beachization” of OB, plus a recipe for revolutionary granola.

In a message from the staff, the Rag declared:

The OB Peoples’ Rag will address itself to the problems and needs of the people and the community:

the Rag will create a continuous dialogue within our community thus providing a voice for its youth and its poor;

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Water Main Break Causes Massive Flooding at Nimitz and West Pt Loma

September 8, 2015 by Staff

About 4:30 am, Tuesday, a 24-inch water main break caused massive flooding down Nimitz Boulevard at West Point Loma Boulevard. There was so much water, a sidewalk caved in and collapsed.

Police issued a Sig Alert for southbound Nimitz – closed between West Pt Loma and Famosa Boulevard.

By 8:30 am, crews had shut off the water but road was still closed.

Extreme Weather Watch: August 2015 – The Western US Burns Up

September 8, 2015 by John Lawrence

Wildfires swept through the states of Washington, Idaho, Oregon and northern California in a record setting conflagration. Thousands of firefighters from all over the world tried to protect houses, but, nevertheless, hundreds burned. A call went out for volunteers and thousands have responded.

Thousands have been evacuated. The cost is soaring past what state and Federal budgets can afford. The choice is to let the West burn up or bankrupt state and national budgets.

The Forest Service is spending $10 million a day to fight wildfires.

No Differences Between Bernie and The Donald?

September 8, 2015 by Ernie McCray

By Ernie McCray

I’ve read comments somewhere out there in social media land that try to put Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders in the same bag as the perception that there isn’t much difference between democrats and republicans.

Well, I could take both sides of part of that argument but there’s a galaxy of separation between Bernie and The Donald. I mean one’s a progressive minded human being and the other is a narcissistic buffoon.

As to the clown, according to The Atlantic millions of people feel he is the best choice to lead America. Millions more “are motivated by giddyness at the chaotic spectacle of his success” which should involve, it seems to me, adding giddyness to the list of mental illnesses.

Happy Labor Day? The Jury is Still Out

September 7, 2015 by Jim Miller

By Jim Miller

Toward the end of June, as many liberals were cheering the Supreme Court’s unexpectedly nonpartisan legalization of same-sex marriage and its equally surprising upholding of the Affordable Care Act, they missed the signal of some potentially very bad news to come this fall.

Indeed, while it was fun to see the Republicans being frustrated by a high court of their own making, that very same court reserved the right to bring some serious pain to progressives for the long term by agreeing to hear Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association in its next session.

Labor Day and the Cycle of Change in the Garden

September 7, 2015 by Source

Nacht Hans Escher WikiCommons

By Susan Taylor / San Diego Free Press

Traditionally Labor Day weekend is the harbinger of fall in much of our nation. The eastern states put away their garden furniture, barbeques, and lawn mowers and locate storm windows and heavier jackets. Here in the sunny southern California clime, we expect at least another six weeks of warm weather, beach parties and more clear, warm days and nights. In San Diego, most would agree that the August heat was epic for people and gardens alike and maybe summer has just begun!

I am a fickle home gardener and confess I gave up on my whole tomato crop, picked as many as I could and ripped the rest out. I replanted several lettuces and put in some beets and another round of herbs. I plan to plant a few broccoli types, a few more tomatoes and carrots in the coming weeks. Feel free to follow your own enthusiasm level!

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OBserved #2

September 4, 2015 by Source

By Terry Ratner

I capture covert performers in a split second and that’s all I need.

Are they making a drug deal, part of a gang, or planning a bust?

They’re on a rooftop or below walking the streets, but seen from a vantage point of a higher building.

I’m watching, snapping, and hoping the subject matter turns out to be bigger than my wildest imagination.

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The San Salvador Replica Floats – But Has Its Mission Been Sunk?

September 4, 2015 by Frank Gormlie

Around mid-afternoon today – Friday, September 4th – the replica of the San Salvador – Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo’s flagship galleon – will be motored out to lead the 10th Annual Festival of Sail – opening the gala nautical Labor Day Weekend.

The ship, which cost $6.2 million, built mostly with thousands of hours of labor donated by the some 400 volunteers, and 2 years behind schedule, will not have sails itself, as the rigging is still being prepared, but it will be powered by an auxiliary engine.

The replica, a project of the San Diego Maritime Museum, is the closest resemblance to Cabrillo’s galleon that modern engineers and naval experts could come up with as blueprints were never discovered for it. And this weekend is the ship’s debut as it is expected to lead the parade of 16 tall ships. It’s billed as “the West Coast’s largest exhibit of tall ships, complete with cannons and sea battles.”

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Large Abbott Street Condo Project Again Rejected – Almost – by OB Planners

September 3, 2015 by Frank Gormlie

Coronado House Approved and Re-Naming Park After Ruth Varney Held Supported

Last night, Wednesday September 2nd, the Ocean Beach Planning Board nearly voted to reject for a second time a large, proposed two story condo project for Abbott and Muir. Instead, their vote was tabled until the Board figures out its own policies under a particular City building green program.

Did you think that was confusing? You should have been at the meeting.

Okay, let’s try it again.

Cable and Del Monte Townhouses Sell for $1.8 Million

September 3, 2015 by Frank Gormlie

Four old-school looking 2 story townhouses in south Ocean Beach just recently sold for $1.8 million.

The large units, built in 1987, are located at 1736 Cable Street, and sit on a 7,000 square foot corner lot with Del Monte Avenue. A lengthy hedge along Cable protects the bottom floor (or at least it was there the last time we looked).

The units include two 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath units and two 2 bedroom, 1.5 bath units.

City Targets Orchard Cave for Emergency Slope Repairs – Still a Month Away

September 3, 2015 by Frank Gormlie

A memorandum – or actually, a Notice – was made available last night at the OB Planning Board meeting that indicates the City of San Diego is ready to move on the dangerous Orchard Cave, as it is now set to enact “emergency slope repairs” at the site in OB.

Actual repairs, however, are a month away, the Councilwoman Zapf representative estimated at the meeting.

This is the same cave in dangerous condition investigated by the OB Rag earlier this week – where it appears people are living – .

OB Library Offering Half Off on Most Library Fines All September Long

September 3, 2015 by Staff

The Ocean Beach Branch Library is participating in the San Diego Public Library’s Fine Discount Month.

Customers who visit the branch can pay half price on library fines all September long. Almost all fines are included. Treasurer’s Accounts, Library “Circuit” fees, and Interlibrary Loan charges are the only fees not included.

Dangerous Cave at Foot of Orchard in Ocean Beach Allowed to Exist

September 2, 2015 by Frank Gormlie

OB Rag Demands Immediate Emergency Mitigation of Dangerous Conditions at the Cave

By Frank Gormlie

Based on complaints heard at the most recent Ocean Beach Town Council meeting, the OB Rag sent a small investigative team out to the end of Orchard Avenue to check into reports that a cave with dimensions of 30 feet by 30 feet existed in the coastal bluff.

My associate, Shawn Drake, and myself set out on an overcast Tuesday with cameras in hand to investigate just what was there, who – if anyone – was there, just how dangerous the cave or caves were, and if the condos above were in danger themselves. What we found was both disturbing and partially reassuring.

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OB Planners Have Full Plate for Wed., Sept 2 Meeting

September 1, 2015 by Staff

3 Projects and a Park Re-Name on Agenda

Looks like it’s a full plate for Ocean Beach planners at their upcoming monthly meeting this Wednesday, September 2nd.

They have the re-naming of Saratoga Park to deal with, as well as 3 projects to review;

one is a coastal cliff stabilization project at 1759 Ocean Front Street;
a garage demolition and construction of a two-story 2100-plus square foot single family residence, with an existing house, at 4821 Coronado Avenue;
the construction of two 3,365 duplexs (total of 4 condos) at 2150 Abbott Street.

Loss of Community Is Greatest Threat From Airbnb and Short-Term Vacation Rentals

September 1, 2015 by Frank Gormlie

Short-term vacation rentals are on the minds of a lot of people these days, especially with those who live at the coast in San Diego.

The issue bubbles up at community meetings. An OB resident brought it up at a recent Ocean Beach Planning Board meeting. And it was the subject of a panel discussion organized recently by the Point Loma Democratic Club. Also, back in February of this year, residents of Pacific Beach made their complaints about them heard publicly.

Then it came up at the most recent OB Town Council meeting last week, during the non-agenda comment period, where folks on both sides on the issue contended for audience sympathy. And it’s certainly a hot topic among callers to District 2 Councilwoman Zapf’s office.

Zapf’s office is in the middle of the controversy as she heads up a City Council committee on Smart Growth and Land Use, which last Spring held 2 public hearings on the issue, where both sides squared off. The upshot was that city staff have drafted language for a new San Diego Municipal ordinance updating how the City deals with the issue of short term vacation rentals.

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Upgrading the U.S. Constitution: Guns for Everyone!

September 1, 2015 by John Lawrence

By John Lawrence

It has come to my attention that some of my conservative friends think that the American Constitution was chiseled in stone. Well, no, actually unlike the Ten Commandments which were written in stone, the American Constitution was written on parchment.

I have a lot of respect for the Founding Fathers who came up with this document based on the best Enlightenment thinking at the time with the help of French philosophes such as Montesquieu who believed in the separation of powers and checks and balances. Unfortunately, the Founders didn’t heed the advice of the Marquis de Condorcet who came up with a better voting system than majority rule.

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Body Found on Ocean Beach Rocks That of Missing Swimmer

September 1, 2015 by Staff

Monday evening, a man’s body was found on the rocks at the foot of Orchard Avenue in Ocean Beach.

The body has been identified as missing swimmer Brian Wilson, the medical examiner’s office said, as reported by abc10.

The body was recovered Monday night by search and rescue officials from the rocks. Lt. Andy Lerum of San Diego Lifeguards told the media:

Immigration Looney Tunes: The Anchor Babies Myth

August 31, 2015 by Source

By Carlos Batara

For months, the signs were clear. A revival of an anchor baby attack was on the way.

Most colleagues scoffed at my warnings. They claimed the battle against xenophobic terminology had been won. The era of using mean-spirited terms, like anchor babies, for political purposes had passed.

I was a town crier, a few said, over-reacting to isolated news events.

Sure, just like the building of new detention cells is unrelated to future arrests and deportations.

Alarmist or not, here’s what I saw:

California government agents exaggerated claims of Chinese birth tourism and maternity hotels
Louisiana passed legislation to deny marriage certificates to undocumented immigrants
Texas refused to issue birth certificates to children born in Texas to undocumented parents

Problems and Some Advice on Airbnb in San Diego Apartments

August 31, 2015 by Source

Editor: In the interests of keeping the discussion on short-term vacation rentals alive, here below is a view by John P Anderson, a proponent of these types of rentals, with some steady advice.

By John P Anderson

As the Airbnb debate continues in San Diego, I found it interesting to receive a warning letter from my previous apartment manager, Torrey Pines Property Management this week informing tenants that using sites like Airbnb is not allowed in the buildings they manage. [For letter, see below.]

I contacted Torrey Pines and was informed that this is a proactive measure to avoid issues in future, not in response to issues that have occurred. Good for them for taking a proactive, informative approach to the issue.

I wanted to share this since there are likely many San Diegans that would like to utilize sites like Airbnb to rent a spare room, or their apartment while they are out of town.

Search for Missing Swimmer off OB Continues

August 31, 2015 by Frank Gormlie

Lifeguards continued their search for a missing swimmer off Ocean Beach early Monday morning.

A 23-year old man named Brian Wilson had entered the ocean at the foot of Santa Cruz Street, and was last seen between 4:30 and 5:20 pm Sunday. He was not that far out and no one reported that they saw him struggling in the water.

Coast Guard aircraft, a cutter and a small boat went out at daybreak Monday in the search for Wilson.

Over a dozen lifeguards were involved in the search on Sunday for over an hour using boats, jet skis and a helicopter until it was suspended because of heavy rips and rough waters and poor visibility along Sunset Cliffs.

Disposable People: Obama, the TPP, and the Betrayal of Human Rights

August 31, 2015 by Jim Miller

By Jim Miller

During the lead-up to the vote on the Trans-Pacific Trade Partnership (TPP) that the President narrowly won, Obama and his surrogates consistently suggested that those in labor and other allied groups opposing the deal were “fighting the last war” and were against “the most progressive trade agreement the world has ever seen.” Indeed, he even went so far as to accuse critics like Senator Elizabeth Warren of “making stuff up”.

As we know, Obama defeated labor and the progressive wing of the Democratic Party and, in concert with Republicans and just enough New Democrats like San Diego’s own Scott Peters and Susan Davis, he succeeded in forwarding the multinational corporate agenda.